Master Bath Remodel at Heart and Home

Hi everyone!  Thanks so much for stopping by. Today I'm a double threat, joining in at Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch,  and DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land.  Each one a wonderful, fun and inspiring place to visit! Thank you Susan and Kimba for hosting us on Monday and Tuesday!


In August when I was just starting out blogging Heart and Home, I posted a few pictures of our master bathroom remodel. I decided to post them again, since no one saw them the first time around! This is a brand new, improved post where I've added additional pictures, new descriptions, and pictures of the BEFORE (scary!) which I rediscovered carefully filed away in our home-remodel photo album. They"ll give you a good idea of why I'm so pleased with the AFTER!!

BEFORE:  This is the bathroom with the 2 1/2' square shower stall, and the 5' tub and shaky toilet:

BEFORE:  This was a weird wall that had openings on both sides but no doors, sinks on one side, bedroom wall on the other. This was a common design feature in homes built during the 70's. I never liked it, but I think the idea was to create a sort of " master suite" area: ( one of the faucets didn't work, and the drawers stuck all the time.)

BEFORE:  Below on the left is the bathroom area, on the right is what passed for the walk-in closet. Fine for someone about 90 lbs, and very tall to reach those upper shelves (that's so not me!!). There was very little storage and no room to turn around:

We worked very hard on the design to incorporate all the things on our wish list, and to make best use of the space.

AFTER:  Here's how the bathroom turned out. (You can see that I'm not done yet. Still have trim painting to do. That darned project has totally intimidated me. I've just got to get started and do it!)

 We created  this room by knocking out the existing walls and turning three little rooms into one big space. We were able to get additional space by digging under the house to make a room for our closet (which is not shown, but it's a room all by itself off of the bedroom- I love it!!), and by adding the pop-out bay window area, which is where the tub sits. (The bay continues upstairs in the kitchen, where the table and chairs are, which you can see more of here.)  I love the color of the walls in here:  "Atlantic" by Martha Stewart, it's very soothing. The floor is limestone, and most of it is heated by the NuHeat system which is a very thin electrical mat laid under the tile before installation. It's so cozy to step onto a warm floor, especially in the winter.

Mr. H&H insisted on a large "man-sized" shower space.  It wound up being a bit larger than 8' x 5' - (big enough for the whole family at one time, plus our pets, friends and neighbors! ; )

 To trim the beadboard wainscoting, I chose these iridescent mosaic tiles  (Bizazza tile, Italy)because they reminded me of sea glass, which is one of my favorite things in the world. (You can see more of that here.) I wanted to finish the entire shower with those tiles, until I saw the price.  I'm very happy to have them as trim....

I picked the wall paint color to compliment the glass tiles.  I did manage to get some of the window trim painted! I wanted the windows and mirrors to flow together, so you couldn't tell where one ended and the other started. We have such a beautiful, private view of our back yard and the redwood trees (go see!) out these windows.

Sinks are "Happy D" by Duravit,  faucets "Tara" by Dornbracht.  Their clean, contemporary lines compliment the more traditional elements in the room. I wanted to mix it up a little, and still maintain the ranch style of this house. I'm more comfortable with an eclectic look, rather that having everything match exactly.




This is my giant-sized space: the tub. It's big enough for two!! It's the one big splurge in this room and I thought I'd be lounging in it every night, treating myself to beauty baths and luxuriating in bubbles. It takes awhile to fill up, and uses a lot of hot water.  Once it's full it's quite lovely to sit in there and poach a little. It took 4 burly guys  to carry the tub into the house - very heavy cast iron. So, when the hot water goes in it stays hot for a long time. The view from these windows is mostly private, and pretty spectacular, too.

I'm still figuring out exactly what to do with the window treatment. I want something soft, and I don't want to block very much of the light or the view, though at night we need something for privacy. The big window is 8' wide, for now I'm using a strong bamboo pole as a curtain rod, because it doesn't need to be supported in the middle.  If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them. I've considered shutters (too severe), blinds (cover too much of the window), bottom up, top down cellular shades (not much character, and lots of cords everywhere) - at this point I'm sort of stuck!! Ideas, anyone? Help!!

Tub is by Kohler, faucet "Tara" by Dornbracht.

I've discovered something very important.  Do you know what keeps peace in a marriage? His and her sinks and bathroom cabinets!! I'm not kidding about that. (There is a cabinet on each side of the sinks. This one is his. Mine is on the other side, and much bigger, naturally!)

I found these cute little lamps at Target, of all places. They fit in perfectly!

Well, there you have it, my little piece of heaven at home - our master bathroom. I love the space, the fixtures, the colors, the finishes  - everything about it, actually. And I know I'm a lucky girl to have such a luxurious bathroom! It really is a calming and restorative space that I never take for granted.  I  truly appreciate it , especially after a hectic day as a space where I can relax and recharge before bedtime, and early in the morning as I prepare for my days activities.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Remember to leave a comment, I read them all and appreciate each one so much. If you have any ideas about those darn curtains, let me hear them!! That project can become a future post!

Until next time,

XO

Heidi